The Meaning of Marriage: A Bipolar Perspective2 min read

Last week I married the woman of my dreams. She is smart, compassionate, beautiful, kind, and caring. She has a sharp wit, a keen appreciation for the absurd, and an abiding faith. We have much in common, but we also have distinct passions that help us grow day by day, like iron sharpening iron. We believe God has called us together and we have vowed to live out this bond in good times and bad as long as we both shall live.

It’s hard as hell to make a marriage work. There is so much sin within and around us that threatens to separate us, to tear apart what God has joined together. Both my wife Susan and I know the agonizing labor and painful repercussions of marriages that have ended. We have spent many hours, decades even, scrutinizing who we are and what we need, to ensure that we don’t relive the past.

From a human perspective, marriage is a daunting task. From a bipolar perspective, it is even more so. The vigilance required to maintain a measure of balance within myself can seem overwhelming. Add to this regiment of self-care the offering of myself intimately caring for another, and it becomes an impossible task. Impossible for me, anyway. But what is humanly impossible, God makes happen. Those who are called by love, for love, are equipped to love in the way we are loved.

Susan and I have many challenges that lie ahead, as do all couples. Health. Finances. Family relationships. Just to name a few. We have already faced some daunting hurdles and we know there will be more. At the root of it all, however, we have faith in the One who delights in us and who has given us hearts to delight in each other. As the Psalmist writes —

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37.4)